Family Member Accused Of Suffocating Tot With Baby Wipe

A family member is accused of killing a 19-month-old toddler by suffocating her with a baby wipe. Opposing Views reports that Azudany Serrano-Contreras has been arrested, and she faces multiple charges associated with child abuse resulting in the death of a child. Meanwhile, it’s being reported that the death didn’t appear to be intentional.

The child’s death reportedly occurred back in March of this year, but over the course of the time that has passed, the investigation determined that the death was not entirely by accident. According to the tot’s father, he had dropped her off at Contreras’ home for her to babysit. The Hastings Tribune reports that Contreras is the great-aunt of the deceased tot on the mother’s side of the family. The child’s father reportedly told media sources that he tried not to accuse in the beginning, but the fact of the matter is that the child was left in the great-aunt’s care before she died.

Authorities have indicated that Contreras’ story had changed multiple times over the course of their inquiry. She initially claimed that she left a baby wipe on a counter, leaving the child alone for just a moment so that she could retrieve lotion. She claims that when she returned, the 19-month-old tot had somehow started to suffocate with the wipe. The only thing that became clear during their investigation,was that the infant did not swallow the wipe on her own. Someone had to have facilitated the suffocation event which killed the tot.

Fox News 4 reports that Contreras’ own children admitted to authorities that she was using the wipe to silence the child’s crying, which is possibly how it became lodged in her throat. Her young family members helped crack the case with their honesty about what potentially led to the child’s death.

Reports indicate that the great-aunt accused of killing the child may have tried to flee to Mexico. She was apprehended near the Texas-Mexico border a few weeks after a warrant was issued for her arrest. She is now being held on over $1 million bond and has been charged with at least one felony of child abuse resulting in death. If she is convicted of this crime, she could find herself in prison for quite a few years, as well as some steep fines. Meanwhile, her family members are mourning the loss of a little girl who didn’t even make it to 2-years-of-age.

[Photo: Hastings Police Department mugshot/Azundany Serrano-Contreras]